CMSA Interdisciplinary Science Seminar: Mechanics of biomolecular assemblies

CMSA EVENTS

Speaker:

Zheng Shi - Rutgers University

The mechanical properties of biomolecular assemblies play pivotal roles in many biological and pathological processes. In this talk, I’ll focus on two different self-assembled structures in cells: 1) the plasma membrane, which defines the boundary of a cell; and 2) protein condensates, which arise from liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) inside cells.
In the first part, I’ll discuss recent findings on how cell membranes respond to local mechanical perturbations. In most non-motile cells, local perturbations to membrane tension remain highly localized, leading to subcellular Ca2+ influx and vesicle fusion events. Membrane-cortex attachments are responsible for impeding the propagation of membrane tension. Exception to this rule can be found in the axon of neurons, where a rapid propagation of membrane tension coordinates the growth and branching of the axon.

In the second part, I’ll discuss the development of quantitative techniques to measure the surface tension and viscosity of liquid protein condensates. Our results highlight a common misconception about LLPS in biology: ‘oil droplets in water’ is often used to give an intuition about protein condensates in cells. However, oil droplets and protein condensates represent two extremes in the realm of liquid properties. The unique properties of protein condensates have important implications in achieving molecular and functional understanding of LLPS.

Zoom: https://harvard.zoom.us/j/98248914765?pwd=Q01tRTVWTVBGT0lXek40VzdxdVVPQT09

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